Those with big, noticeable traps, how’d you get there?

[blssdslj]

@shawna27 Doing bicep curls to arnold press compound dumbell lifts for years in my 20's did that for me. Once I got up to sets of 10 reps of 40lb dumbells, my traps were quite noticeable. It wasn't my goal, but it happened.

 

[lynmorg]

@shawna27 Rock climbing it wasn’t a goal. I didn’t even know what traps were, they just appeared all of a sudden lol

 

[saucyspicey14]

@shawna27 Heavy loaded carries

 

[blessedbyhim888]

@shawna27 I presume it's from the shitloads of heavy deads and rows that I've done.

 

[regisdominus]

@shawna27 Upright rows did it for me i think. Honestly not a fan of my traps but better than fats ◡̈

 

[shaolinwarrior27]

@shawna27 Farmer's walks, with your traps half contracted. Been doing this for a few months and have seen good trap growth. I finish every workout with my farmer's walks, so that's about 4 times a week.

 

[kevintri99]

@shawna27 Lots of farmers carries

 

[sara1985]

@shawna27 Front squats/SSB

 

[vnaveda]

@shawna27 If you can’t see your traps it’s because your body fat is too high. No one here mentioned that because no one here has big traps. If you can’t “see x body part” it’s because your body fat is too high. Even a scrawny dude has defined traps, your just too fat to see it. Lose body fat without losing muscle.

 

[leightonh]

@shawna27 EDIT: LoL, misread the title as lats...

5 sets 3-5 reps seated* military press with progressive overload (increase weight as soon as you can do 5-6 reps on first set), 3 sets arnold press for 6-8 reps (increase weight as soon as you can hit 8 on first set), and 3 sets reverse flies 6-8 reps. Do all 3 exercises in a workout twice a week.

*OHP isn't bad-ish, but I find that if you're really trying to target a muscle then taking out all the core stabilization that's required for OHP helps increase the workload of the target muscle. I also find that heavy OHP as you age is really, really bad for the back - it doesn't like compressive forces.

And on a plug for my edit: wide lats and deltoids will make you look bigger moreso than traps. Disproportionately big traps make you look like you have no neck.

 

[gg97]

@shawna27 Heavy deadlifts are the way

 

[imnw]

@shawna27 Olympic lifting.

 

[elishiva]

@shawna27 OLY, a little bit of genetics, I do a lot of upright rows, dips, face pulls, etc.

 

[dawn16]

@shawna27 Heavy fucking farmer carry’s and lots of heavy rucking for miles upon miles.

 

[balders]

@shawna27 Join the wrestling team before puberty starts. Keep wrestling until you go to college.

In all seriousness, In addition to all the other great advice, I strongly suggest joining a BJJ gym. No-gi is especially good at helping you build a strong back/neck. All the purple belts+ that do no-gi have jacked shoulders and traps. It’s a by-product of the sport.

I got back into it at 37 and I’m loving my 2x a week schedule.

 

[justin777]

@shawna27 Lifted and played college sports but never had traps until consistent oly lifting.

 

[arcsinger]

@shawna27 Heavy shrugs

 

[dawn16]

@shawna27 Heavy deads will destroy your traps

 

[dawn16]

@shawna27 Rows rows rows

Genetics

Genetics

Deadlift / power cleans / behind the back smith machine shrugs / croc rows / shrugs / barbell rows

Genetics

Whatever you do you don’t gotta go super heavy great form and a hard contractions at the top with a pause will do wonders

And eat eat eat

 

[leggomymeggo]

@shawna27 Honestly, genetics for me. While I do CrossFit and do a lot of explosive movements that are shoulder-based, I always had pretty big traps even before starting it.